Career Summary

MLB Statistics

Historical (past-seasons) WARP is now based on DRA..
cFIP and DRA are not available on a by-team basis and display as zeroes(0). See TOT line for season totals of these stats.Multiple stints are are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR

Team

Lg

G

GS

IP

W

L

SV

H

BB

SO

HR

oppTAv

PPF

H/9

BB/9

HR/9

K/9

GB%

BABIP

TAv

WHIP

FIP

ERA

cFIP

DRA

DRA-

WARP

1999

TBA

MLB

6

6

30.7

0

4

0

35

13

32

7

.265

96

10.3

3.8

2.1

9.4

37%

.333

.280

1.57

5.36

5.87

89

3.90

84.1

0.8

2000

TBA

MLB

11

2

23.0

1

1

0

29

11

17

2

.264

94

11.3

4.3

0.8

6.7

42%

.342

.298

1.74

4.57

5.48

106

5.72

111.9

0.1

2001

TBA

MLB

13

0

17.7

1

0

0

30

5

12

3

.264

97

15.3

2.5

1.5

6.1

38%

.403

.341

1.98

4.80

8.66

110

4.96

108.4

0.1

2003

NYN

MLB

35

0

51.0

1

3

2

49

17

35

6

.260

97

8.6

3.0

1.1

6.2

48%

.276

.249

1.29

4.19

3.71

101

4.66

100.8

0.4

2004

HOU

0

14

0

14.3

0

0

0

11

3

9

1

.253

95

6.9

1.9

0.6

5.7

45%

.244

.194

0.98

3.44

2.51

0

0.00

73.9

0.0

2004

NYN

0

32

1

50.7

3

1

0

65

17

46

9

.257

97

11.5

3.0

1.6

8.2

41%

.350

.286

1.62

4.45

4.80

0

0.00

91.7

0.0

2005

HOU

MLB

71

0

73.3

2

3

3

53

19

69

7

.265

98

6.5

2.3

0.9

8.5

38%

.242

.208

0.98

3.25

2.21

85

3.08

76.3

2.0

2006

HOU

MLB

75

0

71.3

3

5

9

58

24

68

5

.266

95

7.3

3.0

0.6

8.6

38%

.270

.223

1.15

3.21

2.52

94

3.68

83.4

1.6

2007

HOU

0

45

0

49.7

1

4

11

46

13

56

8

.261

104

8.3

2.4

1.4

10.1

37%

.302

.239

1.19

3.92

5.07

0

0.00

80.9

0.0

2007

TBA

0

25

0

25.0

0

5

0

28

10

26

3

.273

102

10.1

3.6

1.1

9.4

41%

.329

.277

1.52

4.11

5.76

0

0.00

80.8

0.0

2008

TBA

MLB

70

0

66.3

5

6

13

44

22

53

10

.262

104

6.0

3.0

1.4

7.2

29%

.190

.215

0.99

4.52

3.12

106

4.36

101.1

0.8

2009

TBA

MLB

69

0

57.7

4

5

2

41

9

45

11

.261

105

6.4

1.4

1.7

7.0

33%

.195

.215

0.87

4.53

3.28

97

4.83

0.0

0.3

2010

TBA

MLB

64

0

48.3

2

4

3

36

16

46

7

.249

105

6.7

3.0

1.3

8.6

36%

.232

.240

1.08

4.08

3.35

97

4.36

101.9

0.3

2011

BOS

MLB

47

0

49.3

2

2

0

47

8

39

7

.264

111

8.6

1.5

1.3

7.1

33%

.272

.238

1.11

3.81

4.38

103

4.02

100.5

0.4

2012

CLE

MLB

12

0

12.3

0

0

0

17

7

2

3

.261

99

12.4

5.1

2.2

1.5

42%

.286

.341

1.95

7.59

8.76

134

10.20

146.2

-0.8

2004

TOT

MLB

46

1

65.0

3

1

0

76

20

55

10

.256

96

10.5

2.8

1.4

7.6

42%

.328

.268

1.48

4.23

4.29

99

4.02

87.8

1.1

2007

TOT

MLB

70

0

74.7

1

9

11

74

23

82

11

.265

103

8.9

2.8

1.3

9.9

38%

.312

.253

1.30

3.99

5.30

83

3.40

80.9

1.7

Career

MLB

589

9

640.7

25

43

43

589

194

555

89

.262

101

8.3

2.7

1.3

7.8

38%

.273

.245

1.22

4.13

3.98

97

4.19

93.5

8.6

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.

1 year (2013). Signed by Kansas City as a free agent 12/11/12 (minor-league contract). Released by Kansas City 5/13. Retired 2/14.

1 year/$0.9M (2012). Signed by Cleveland as a free agent 1/26/12 (minor-league contract). Salary of $0.9M in majors. Contract purchased by Cleveland 4/4/12. DFA by Cleveland 5/14/12. Sent outright to Triple-A 5/16/12.

1 year/$3M (2011), plus 2012 club option. Signed by Boston as a free agent 12/18/10. 11:$3M, 12:$3M club option. Option guaranteed at $3M with 65 games in 2011, $3.25M with 70 games in 2011. Boston declined 2012 option 10/31/11.

1 year (2003). Signed as a free agent (minor-league contract). Recalled 6/03.

Drafted by Tampa Bay 1996 (34-1,024) (Central Arizona).

Previous Year Preseason Upside By Year

Yr Proj

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

PEAK 5

2015

11.6

8.3

7.2

3.4

0.2

30.7

BP Annual Player Comments

Year

Comment

2013

Once the closer for the Astros and Rays and one of the more underrated relievers in baseball, Wheeler's career may be winding down. He was excellent as recently as 2010 and very good as recently as 2011, but he took a bit of a nosedive in 2012, spending most of the season in the minors. His stuff was way down, and he never had exceptional secondary offerings to begin with. He used to be a good strike-thrower with command of his fastball to both sides of plate, but he lost a bit of that in 2012. It seems the years of pitching 70-plus games are starting to catch up him. The Royals have rolled the dice on broken relievers in the past, and have inked Wheeler to a minor-league deal.

2012

Wheeler started the year poorly, posting an ERA of 11.32 with four homers allowed through May 4, but following a stint on the DL for a calf strain, he was the Wheeler Boston thought they were getting when they signed him for $3 million. In his final 39 frames, Wheeler posted a K/BB of 4.4 and an ERA of 2.54. The problem was that manager Terry Francona didn't seem to notice, utilizing Wheeler almost exclusively in situations considered to be low-leverage, even when the rest of the 'pen struggled. This also caused Wheeler to face lefties far more often than a ROOGY should: nearly 40 percent of his batters faced were left-handers, despite a career record that says that is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.

2011

Either Wheeler ran over Joe Maddon's dog or the Rays' skipper grew wary of his extreme fly-ball tendencies, because his innings total was his lowest in eight years despite full health, and his leverage score (1.16) was much lower than at any time during his second go-round in Tampa Bay. Obviously, the arrivals of Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit, and even grounder-friendly Chad Qualls (1.27 LEV) had something to do with Wheeler's reduced time in the spotlight, but it was surprising nonetheless. Speaking of leverage, while Wheeler's Type-A free-agent status could have been expected to rob him of his, the Red Sox willingly surrendered their second-round pick (the Rays also nabbed the Sox' first-rounder when Boston signed Crawford) to ink him to a one-year, $3-million deal.

2010

Wheeler didn't spend any time closing for the Rays in 2009 as he had in 2008, but he was the team's most valuable reliever according to WXRL. That isn't saying much, considering that his total would have ranked fourth a year earlier. Because Wheeler works higher in the strike zone than most, he gets opposing hitters to put the ball in the air with a frequency few can match; after finishing with the majors' third-lowest ground-ball rate among pitchers with at least 50 innings in 2008, he ranked 18th in 2009. Unsurprisingly, many of those left the yard, more than the number of guys he walked, which was weird but not unprecedented: 28 others have done that in the Wild Card era, one-quarter of them Twins.

2009

Wheeler made a nice recovery from a tough 2007 campaign that was his only bad year in the last five. He lives off of his 88-92 mph cut fastball; if you're right-handed he mixes in a slider, for left-handers it's a changeup. If he has one weakness, it's location, and when he misses, he misses up, and the balls fly out of the yard. He's with Tampa Bay for the next two years with a club option for a third; consistently good relievers can be worth their weight in gold.

2008

After back-to-back excellent years with the Astros, Wheeler was given some save opportunities early in 2007 when Brad Lidge struggled. After experiencing some struggles of his own, he wound up back with the team that drafted him in exchange for Ty Wiggington. Wheeler's walk and strikeout rates were better than ever last year, but he suddenly became more hittable, especially when it came to giving up the long ball. It's a coin toss as to whether or not that was a one-year fluke or a cause for concern. The Rays have the time to find out.

2007

Wheeler functioned as the de facto closer during Brad Lidge`s various mercy breaks and did a reasonable job. That says something about the way the `only certain pitchers have the fortitude to close` lobby has overstated its case; the Astros have gone through a series of closers and have never had the slightest problem promoting the next guy into the role. A more accurate truth would be that not all pitchers have the fortitude to close, but many do. Consider Wheeler one of baseball`s best-kept secrets; since the Mets trade him to Houston for no-hit minor league outfielder Adam Seuss in August 2004, Wheeler has assembled the following line: 159 innings, 122 hits, 46 walks, 146 strikeouts, and a 2.38 ERA. Wheeler will likely close again sometime, especially if the Astros find someone willing to give Brad Lidge a change of scenery.

2006

Shaking the home run bug made Wheeler an outstanding setup man. However, there`s nothing in his statistical record that predicted the dramatic drop in his hit rate, so some rebound is likely. His splits are fairly even, both on the lefty/righty and home/road axes. According to one scout, `He`s learned to change speeds without tipping his pitches, so he`s just going to get better.` Could well be.

2005

Wheeler nearly out-Lidged Brad Lidge in the NLCS, throwing seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks against the Cardinals. Not bad for a guy who spent most of his year throwing mop-up relief for the Mets. He's tough on righties, which is particularly useful in a division with lots of righty-heavy lineups.

2004

You'd think the Mets could help the rest of the league out by distributing some of these faceless, decent righty relievers, given the supposed shortage of arms some people keep whining about. Heath Bell, Grant Roberts, Dan Wheeler... after a while only their moms can tell them apart.

2001

After jumping from Double-A to the majors in 1999, Dan Wheeler was expected to be a big part of the 2000 Devil Rays. That plan didn't survive April, as he joined Ryan Rupe in getting battered and demoted. He doesn't have Rupe's stuff or upside and surrendered 35 bombs in 150 1/3 innings at Durham last year, so the near-term outlook isn't so great. He should have been given the uniform number 18?

2000

A former 34th-round pick, he made more progress in 1999 than any other prospect in the Rays' system. Wheeler cemented his status with an exceptional performance in the Pan Am Games, earning a six-start audition with the parent club in September. He throws strikes and has decent breaking pitches that he mixes with a low-90s fastball, but gives up a lot of hits due to wildness within the strike zone. Rothchild was impressed and intends to give him a clean shot at the rotation in spring training. I expect him to struggle and would rather see him begin the season working out of the bullpen, as he did for Team USA.

BP Chats

What do you see in prospects Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero of the Mets? How will they fair in an up and coming rotation that already has an ace in Matt Harvey and a young stud in Dan Wheeler? Will the Mets have the best starting rotation in the NL East in the next couple of years?(Eric R. from North Carolina)

Why are the Mets using Izzy over Parnell? Don't you need to close games in order to "be trained" how to do so? I've been holding onto Parnell all year waiting for this opportunity. WHY??? :)(Jim from Kansas)

Because the Wilpons didn't think it was enough to piss off Mets fans so they decided to piss off fantasy owners as well. Izzy is the clear loser in the skills category, but they're going to let him do it for now. Closing is all about opportunity - you don't need to be trained for the role. The Rays have had 7 different relievers lead the team in saves over the past 7 seasons and that includes the likes of Tyler Walker, Dan Wheeler, and now Kyle Farnsworth. (Jason Collette)

We already know Epstien is one of the best GMs in baseball. Can't argue with 2 rings in 10 years. What do you think of how his moves from last off season are panning out? (Puppy-D from BAWSTON)

I was a bit stunned to see Sam Fuld still outhitting Carl Crawford a few days ago. I think he is pretty delighted to have Adrian Gonzalez on his squad, though, and eventually Crawford will turn it around. Now, if they can just get Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler healthy, the offseason could look about as good as it did in March. (R.J. Anderson)

Am I crazy to think that the Twins can put together a darn good bullpen even with losing Crain, Guerrier, Rauch, and Fuentes (assuming they all leave)?
I think it's very funny that Twins fans complain that Jose Mijares is inconsistent but also worry that Crain will leave; call for Anthony Slama and Rob Delaney for nearly two years, but now fear the bullpen will be awful when they might get a chance; and don't trust any low-cost options when a guy like Guerrier was originally claimed off waivers.
If the Twins can sort through the many options, they could piece together a very effective group. That being said, any established relievers you would recommed for relatively cheap?(russadams from St. Paul)

Wait, a bullpen couldn't repeat its performance from last year, one which was above and beyond expectations during its successful run? I liked the Rays to be better than last year for reasons outside of their bullpen. I think we'll see Howell and Balfour pick it up a bit, but if you expect them to replicate last year again, you're in for a long season. (Marc Normandin)

If the Rays are looking to add a reliever, why would they deal Dan Wheeler, who has been one of their best relievers?(Tommy from Outsperswing)

It's a value equation. "Cardiac Dan" has been supplanted as an 8th inning guy/CIW by Grant Balfour, but has good numbers and is seen by the league as a premium setup guy. That has a pretty big value, considering someone like Brian Fuentes would cost a David Price to acquire. If you can trade Wheeler, get a RH bat, and plug in one of the available guys or even Price in September, shouldn't they consider it? (Will Carroll)

Thoughts on the Rays bullpen, we knew it was going to improve from being historically bad last year...but best in the majors? Eh? JP Howell has suddenly found a niche, Dan Wheeler refound his slider and Percival has been lights-out. Too early to be excited or do the stats comparing 'pens from the last 2 years show some real growth?(jlarsen from DRays Bay)

Pens are fickle from year to year. I prefer when teams use in-house options and cheap alternatives over high-priced guys, and the Rays built their pen this way for '08. I'm not sure if it's the best in the league, but it's improved from last year, which is a start. (Marc Normandin)

PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2016, Dan Wheeler threw 4,205 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2007 and 2013, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season, the MLB Postseason and Spring Training. In 2013, he relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (90mph), also mixing in a Slider (86mph), Curve (78mph) and Splitter (85mph).